It has been some time since RTGS and NEFT facilities are available to retail bankers. If you are one looking for more information on this, you can use the following link which I found very useful and informative.

Due to multiple rate hikes by RBI during this year, most of the Indian financial stocks have got beaten . Even large cap bank stocks are trading almost 40% below their peaks. Does it mean a big doom for the financial services sector?.. It is definitely a bad patch . With more than 50% of the population being young and raring to go, there is a high probability that we have a lot of potential for this sector. When compared to developed economies , the market cap of financial services sector looks very small. These may be testing times but I feel that there is a huge potential for this in the long run.

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When there was a proposal a couple of years ago to include astrology as a mainstream course of study in universities, there were big hues and cries about it. Many questioned the rationality behind astrology and ridiculed that future prediction was just a cheating game.

But when top notch schools churn out economists and analyst ( thanks to RATIONALE study on macro economic, micro economics, technical and fundamental analysis!), we welcome them into the corporate world with a big heart.

They also start doing this prediction job, When oil moves up they predict it to go up and when it starts falling , they try to reason it out too. When sensex is at 21,000, they say that it will reach 27,000. But when it hits 13000, they start talking about 8500. They keep changing their stance each and every day and try to support their stance with a strong fundamental logic (????!!@#). Some of them may be doing this for their personal gain by operating in the futures market based on their stance. We never question these people or no one has ever tried to fix a accountability for them. But we keep hailing the schools that keep churning out these intellectual graduates and we cry for more of such institutes. Not that I am trying to support education on astrology in schools but trying to question our rationality 'on the stance of maintaining rationality' in education.

You may ask, why this article on a personal finance blog. The answer is quite simple. Don't follow these experts blindly but follow a simple and regular investment plan like SIP to make money in the long run.( Hope this works!!! :-) )

The fund aims to maximise long-term capital appreciation by investing 70-100% in equity and equity-related securities of companies engaged in banking and financial services and 0-30% in debt instruments.

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Those who are looking for an exposure to BFSI sector can apply a small amount.

Reliance and BirlaSunlifeAMCs are offering SIP along with insurance depending on your SIP installments. This can be a good option for those who don't mind paying that extra bit towards insurance.Many of us take find it difficult to take a term insurance policy as it fetches no "returns":-). So, lot of us end up with ULIPs which are very costly investment products.For those who are yet to start their investments and insurance, these SIP+ Insurance plans may be a good start. As the plan may not provide adequate insurance for one's need, One needs to plan for this taking into account his overall insurance and investment needs.

Was going through this article .It talks about 42% decline in Indian markets Vs 15% slide in US markets .It also gives some figures on GDP to Market cap ratio.

India which has not faced a serious crisis like the US has suffered most. This is surprising considering the fact that the consumption pattern in India has not significantly slowed down.This sharp decline may be because, Sensex rose faster than US markets when the bull run was on.

But the main reason can be attributed to maturity in equity markets. We are still dependent on FII strength to boost our markets. Domestic savings should be encouraged to the healthy long term equity investment route. This will help our indices less dependent on FII action. We have a long way to go there, but I feel that the journey has already started , although slowly.

For those who are on a SIP made through a MF agent, you will be paying the entry load on your investment.

There are two ways to convert your investments into DIRECT investment.

1) Drop a letter to your AMC stating that you want to convert your broker code to DIRECT.

2) Stop the existing SIPs and start afresh investments directly.

When I read articles on difficulties in direct investment, they talk about difficulties in filling up forms, visiting AMC s, standing on queue ,etc.

If you have go through the instructions in the application form , there is little chance that you will make a mistake. If you find it difficult visiting the AMC, courier the form to your nearest AMC office. One time courier charge is better than the entry load. Always mention your email id along with the investments, so that queries can be sorted out on mails easily.

Don't forget to mention DIRECT in the broker code space on the application form.

Mirae Asset Global Commodity Stocks Fund - GrowthOffer Open -Offer CloseJun 24, 2008-Jul 23, 2008,Open Ended,EquityScheme ObjectiveThe investment objective of the scheme is to generate long term capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio investing in equity and equity related securities of companies that are engaged in commodity and commodities related sectors/sub sectors/industries, with at least 65% of the corpus invested overseas in Asia Pacific and Emerging Markets. There is no assurance or guarantee of returns

Seems to be a novel idea. Since less than 65% invested in Indian equity, this would be treated as a debt fund for taxation purpose. Those who are extremely bullish on commodities can try out this fund. For new investors, wait and watch would be definitely better .

Real estate stocks are battered the most in this free fall of sensex. With hardening interest rates and slump in demand due to high prices, sales are expected to go down in this sector.

This may also lead to small corrections or a big fall in the real estate prices depending on the situation that unfolds. if oil prices keep going high or inflation continues to be in double digits, RBI may hike the interest rates further tightening the liquidity.

Moreover if there is an increase in EMI default because of the hardening interest rates, we may also see some panic selling in the market. If the real estate prices stands out this crisis for a couple of years... we may say the real estate prices are REAL or else they are certainly NOT. Lets see how things unfold.

Sensex and Nifty are having a free fall and there seems to be no end to it. There are a lot of questions in everybody' mind . What will be the direction of crude oil prices??...Will the oil prices ever fall... Are we in a recession??. How's the US slump or recession going to affect the emerging economies....

Experts who predicted the sensex to go to 25,000 by year end are revising targets to 12500.!!!

The P/E of NIFTy has almost fallen to 16. No doubt that this is a tough to digest phase for retail investor.

Time and patience cures everything . All the retail investor needs to do is continue to SIP in a proven diversified equity fund ...Sit back and relax. Money invested during these chaotic times may be yielding the highest returns. But there is a caveat...If you do not have a long time horizon for investment ( at least 5 years ) , debts may definitely be a safer option. Banks and NBFCs have significantly increased the deposit rates.

You may also park your funds in Debt funds and once you see a clear picture start an STP to an equity fund.

Time and patience cures everything. So, all the evils that the market see today should be cured someday or the other.